


Acacia

by Thuklet



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 15:29:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11900649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thuklet/pseuds/Thuklet
Summary: Connor had had a strange fascination with flowers for as long he could remember.





	Acacia

Connor had had a strange fascination with flowers for as long he could remember. His earlier memories included frlocking through fields of daisies and playing with the beautiful petals of the gloxinia flowers his mother had attempted to grow in the garden one year. He recalled many days of solitude in his room, his only companion being the small red carnation on his desk and the dandelions outside his window. He enjoyed the quietness of the flora, their ability to listen so absolutely and answer his questions so perfectly without saying a word. He loved each and every flower for their unique colors, smells, and personalities.

This inclination towards bright foliage is why it came as no surprise to the few who knew him well enough when he decided he wanted to open a flower shop downtown. Connor had just graduated from high school the year before and currently had no plans for college and was having trouble even wrapping his head around the idea that he was free from the deadly learning place. Therefore, when he saw the for sale sign on the storefront he quickly bought the space on a wild impulse and had it filled with countless flowers in under a month.

He had worked hard to get this all set up, exploiting manic and passion to get the job done in record time. Now as he walked down the city sidewalk to his brand new flower shop, Connor wore the closest thing to a smile anyone had seen grace his face in years. He glanced around the sunny street at the many, many other stores competing for business in the area, passing several restaurants, clothing stores, fresh produce stand, one or two bakeries, and even a tiny pet store.

As he neared his own humble shop, he briefly looked across the street, noticing the tattoo parlor that sat there ever so menacingly. He had thought it a little funny that his flower shop would be located directly across from an edgy looking tattoo place, and it still amused him slightly to see the bright pastel colored sign outside his shop that read “Corner Market Flowers” in big flowery cursive versus the dark chiller fonted sign on the other side of the road that simply stated: “Tattoos.” 

Walking into the empty store, Connor gleefully -though he hardly showed it- flipped the sign in the door to ‘open’ and flicked on the lights. He was immediately greeted with the pleasant sight of rows upon rows of majestic, well kept flowers, each with a mostly reasonable price tag above it. He breathed in the scents of the shop, reveling in the earthy smells of the dirt and the sweet aromas of the plants. He quickly walked behind the counter and waited for a customer, quickly becoming bored and taking out his phone to refresh his messages over and over, just in case. 

Not long had passed before the first person other than him to ever enter the flower shop pushed open the glass door and stepped into the store. Connor studied him for a moment, noting his confident posture and wild grin. After way too long of a silence Connor finally realized that he was probably supposed to say something at this point. “Uh, can I help you?” He called, seeming way less enthusiastic than he really was.

The man smiled warmly at Connor. “I saw you were open for the first time today, so I thought I’d stop by or something,” he leaned against a wall casually, admiring a few nearby chrysanthemums, “so, where’s the guy who opened this place?”

“That’d be me.” He replied, a little confused by the question. The small business had just started, and he clearly hadn’t had the time or money to hire any workers.

“Oh, geez, okay,” the stranger seemed a little surprised by this, and Connor frowned slightly at his tone, “you don’t really look like the kind of guy who’d open a flower shop... No offense.” He added.

Connor looked at himself, mildly confused, before realizing how un-flower-esque he looked. He was wearing a massive black hoodie that extended well past his hands, dark jeans, chipped ebony nail polish, and thick onyx eyeliner. He looked back up at the person in front of him and stared at him in awkward, painful silence for the other man broke it by clearing his throat.

“Well, anyway, I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood,” he said cheerily, “I work down at the bakery just a few buildings down so if you ever want to stop by and get some bread or something we’re always open. Not really though, I mean we close at seven…” He continued to meet Connor’s gaze, beaming, and slowly began walking back towards the entrance. He paused just before he left, dashing back over to the counter and holding out his hand to Connor. “My name’s Jared by the way, nice to meet you.” He said, quickly and somewhat formally.

Connor stared at the man called Jared for a moment, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do before he hesitantly stretched his own hand out from his pocket to meet Jared’s. “Connor. Nice to meet you too.” He said, a little more forcefully than he intended. Jared didn’t seem bothered by Connor’s accidental aggression and nodded, turning around once again and heading out of the store.

Sighing lightly, Connor boredly rested his head on his hand. Nothing even remotely interesting happened for nearly another hour, and he considered going outside for a walk. He decided against it, as considering his luck as soon as he left everyone in the town would enter his shop and leave when they found him absent. So he stayed there, watching the gentle breeze massage the small trees planted on the boulevard, watching the shadows dance around the room as the air conditioning rustled the leaves and petals of the flowers, daydreaming as he awaited stimulation.

The sound of the door opening brought him back to reality and he looked up from the counter to see a rather timid looking man step into the building, his eyes darting around nervously. Connor wasn’t sure to be concerned for this new person or suspicious of him. After only a glance he could easily tell exactly who this man was, as his arms and legs were covered in tattoos. He noticed most of them resembled plants in some way, tree roots and stems snaking their way around his body, small colorful flowers poking out occasionally. As the stranger looked around the shop for a moment, Connor noticed an additional tattoo of a bonsai tree painted on the back of his neck, a few branches and leaves poking up from under his shirt. His hair was dyed a dark green, which appeared to be fading slightly, revealing very light brown roots.

Connor put on his best fake smile. “Hello there!” He called in an almost sickeningly sweet tone, especially considering his naturally angry personality. “Welcome to Corner Market Flowers. How can I help you?”

The man jumped as soon as Connor began speaking and stared at him for a long moment before replying. “Uhm… I’m just, getting some… f-flowers… or something….” He randomly grabbed a pot of lavender roses and slowly made his way up to the counter.

Without a word, Connor pulled the tag out of the dirt and read the price, and the nervous man handed him the exact amount. As he put the money in the empty register Connor glanced at the man’s tattoos again. “So, I’m assuming you work at the tattoo parlor then?” He tried.

The stranger jumped again, as if he wasn’t expecting to be spoken to again. “What? Oh! Yeah I uh… yeah.” He desperately avoided making eye contact with Connor.

“Nice,” he closed the register, “what’s your name?” He asked.

“Uhm… Hansen. Wait, no. Evan. My name’s Evan. Evan Hansen. You didn’t need to know my last name but I said it accidentally but you can call me Evan or I guess Hansen if you prefer but that’s kind of uncomfortable but anyway you’ll probably hardly talk to me again so it’s pointless really but yeah I’m Evan and-”

“Okay, okay, slow down.” Connor saw Evan was turning a little red, and as soon as he stopped talking he took a big gulp of air and coughed a little, smiling shyly at Connor. “Evan.” Connor smiled slightly, enjoying the way the name sounded. “I’m Connor, and you are officially my first customer!” He tried to sound as enthusiastic as he actually felt.

Evan didn’t react very much, just blinking slowly at Connor. “Oh… cool.” He gave a pained smile and grabbed the small pot of roses, slowly beginning to walk away from Connor and toward the door.

“See you around!”Connor called as Evan exited the shop. Evan looked back at Connor, acknowledging that he’d heard him, but didn’t respond verbally.

Connor shrugged and watched him cross the street and walk back into the tattoo parlor. He was relieved to know that at least some of the nearby workers and shop owners were friendly. The rest of the day was rather uneventful, Connor only making two more sales. The first was rather odd, someone entering the shop and buying a single large water lotus without saying a word. The second sale he made that day was an order for a medium floral arrangement to be picked up the following morning. 

Connor gathered a nice bouquet of flowers and gently placed them in a large pot, organizing them in a pleasing symmetrical manner. When he had finished it was just beginning to grow dark and Connor decided to close the store for the day and head home, flipping the sign to closed and beginning the short trek home.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how to continue this so if anyone has any ideas I'd be open to Treebros or Sincerely Three :)


End file.
